


Happy Birthday, Judy

by Antigonesev



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 09:24:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12318225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antigonesev/pseuds/Antigonesev
Summary: Judy turns ten today. She gets a birthday present from Daddy, but it isn't what everyone expects.





	Happy Birthday, Judy

**Author's Note:**

> If you have read my work, you can tell where Jesse comes from; "My Brother's Keeper" and Rus, Harry and Mione are just normal, boring versions of Severus, Harry and Hermione from Inferi. Only vague mentions but thought I'd mention it anyway. This fic is for my lovely people over at RWG. You guys rock, and this is for Pumpkin.

    Judy was turning ten, and she had invited some friends to her birthday party. She didn't have many friends, but she knew her friends loved her and they were all best friends. She had even invited her big brother Carl. 

     Standing outside, Rick and Daryl smiled as they watched Judy chatter away with Carl, his girlfriend Sophia, and the infamous “we’re just friends, Daddy!” Hershel Rhee. Hershel’s younger sisters were hanging on to Maggie and Glenn. Rick was glad that they had a good circle of friends, unlike when he has been with Lori; his only friends had been Lori, Shane and the neighbors and coworkers. With Daryl, he had Daryl's brother Merle, his husband Rus, and their little boys. Then there were Glenn and Maggie Rhee over at the vet, Carol and Abraham Ford, whose daughter Sophia had been with Carl for close to four years now. It was a small party, it would have been bigger, but Michonne and Gabriel couldn't attend, as well as Aaron and Eric. 

 

    “Uncle Rus! Uncle Merle!” Daryl heard his daughter shriek with delight when her favorite uncles showed up with their two sons in tow. A boy had a girl with him, a bushy-haired girl Daryl vaguely remembered being referred to as a new girlfriend of his nephew Harry’s, a girl named Mione. The small family left their presents for Judy on the side table and moved further into the backyard to mingle. The only person left was Jess, Merle and Daryl’s older brother from an affair that Will Dixon had with a young barmaid before he had knocked up Merle and Daryl’s mother. It had only been last year when they had found out of his existence through Judy’s family tree assignment. They had gone to Ancestry.com and done a google search and William Jesse Dixon jr. was found. Rick could still remember the first meeting they had in person, instead of over the phone. 

Thinking of Jesse prompted Rick to glance at Carol and Maggie- they were busy in the house getting the cake ready. It was perfect timing, Rick headed into the house, ignoring the noise and chatter outside as Abe and Daryl picked teams for a random game. 

“Carol? Mags?” Rick asked as he leaned on the counter, making sure the whole house was empty first; he didn’t want anyone to hear their conversation. “I -- I wanna ask somethin’. Daryl… will he marry me?” Rick didn’t want to beat around the bush. He didn’t have time to waste, with the camo ring burning a hole in his pocket. He had gone with Rus to the jewelers’ and Rus had yelled at Rick and hauled him off to his own garage where Rus  managed to hand-make the perfect ring for Daryl out of wood. The ring was simple and wooden, and hadn’t cost them anything, and most of all, it was hand-made by his brother in law. 

“Are you crazy? He will.” Maggie said with a scoff, adjusting her snugli, heavy with their newest son in the sling, snoring away. “He adores you, Rick. You guys have been through everything together, and.. He’s still here. That’s saying something.” Maggie wiped up the counter as Carol nodded, putting the candles on the camo cake Carol had just finished decorating. 

“Pookie will, if he knows what’s good for him.” Carol said in a thinly threatening tone, smiling beautifully as she clasped her hands together in delight. The candles were not lit, and Rick vaguely felt a sinister breeze blow through the room. Carol was powerful, and close to Daryl… and very scary. 

“Anyone home?” Rus asked, poking his head into the kitchen. “Jess is here, and everyone’s waiting on the cake. Judy’s getting a bit pouty too, she really wants to see what Carol made for her.”

“We’re coming!” Rick said with a nod, taking the lead out of the kitchen. His long legs caught up quickly to Rus, the two of them being the tallest men in attendance, other than Merle and Jesse, the two brothers the same height and build. 

“You okay, Rick? You look like you’ll die.” Rus said with a faint smirk, winking and poking at Rick with a long and thin finger. Rick scoffed and shoved Rus aside, Rus’s black ponytail swinging over his shoulder as he gained his footing, only to trip over a little Rhee child. They were everywhere, Rick smiled gently as he took the chance to move further up towards where Daryl was with Judy and Carl, Carol bringing up the cake from behind him. 

 

“Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Judith … Happy birthday to you!” everyone sang merrily, while the Dixons all sang loudly, competing among each other who could sing the loudest. Dogs howled, making the Dixons laugh harder. Rus slid behind Rick, whispering in his ear, 

“And THIS is what you’re marrying.”

“You married Merle.”

“I was young and stupid. Still am.” Rus said with a scoff, gulping down a beer. “I don’t think we need to lecture you, Richard. Do we?” Rus’s voice dropped dangerously, his black eyes flashing from merry to dark and cold. Rick shivered slightly, feeling the same breeze blow over him that he had felt with Carol. Severus was the dangerous one, Rick suddenly realized. Merle was  just a teddy bear compared to this man. Rick being smart, nodded and didn’t smile in return. 

“Good boy.” Rus smirked with his silky voice, moving past Rick to sidle up to Merle, handing him his beer to finish up. Rick let out a long breath, his eyes finding Daryl’s. 

“Rus scare you again? What is it, this time?” Daryl said with a laugh, Judy bouncing away from him towards Merle and Rus. “I swear, I would think that guy was a vampire, but no, he just is a head-shrinker.”

“Mm.” Rick said with a nod as he leaned into Daryl. The ring burned a hole in his pocket, he could feel it burning, and his chest twinged with each beat of his heart. He needed Daryl to know how much he meant to him, and Judy HAD been calling herself Judy Dixon for years.. Why not make it official today? 

“Well. Let the birthday girl open her presents, then!” Merle hollered, picking up Judy and hoisting her up on a wooden bench hand-made by Hershel Greene. “First present, from your favorite uncles.” Judy shrieked with delight, tearing into the mundanely wrapped box, and the next box, and the next until all of her presents had been unwrapped. 

“I don’t see one from Daddy.” Judy said with a pout, looking through the trash and debris of her wake of destruction. Daryl leaned down to help Judy, knowing that Judy had already unwrapped the present of a new bow and arrow from him, but he had thought he saw Rick wrapping something earlier today.. 

“I have one, it’s in my pocket.” Rick said with a smile as he knelt before Judy. “But it’s more for Daryl than for you. You know how you want to be Judy Dixon? Today, you can be Judy Dixon.”

“But you said it’s only when Daryl marries you an’ ‘dopts me.”

“Happy birthday, Judy.” Rick said as he held out the ring, his blue eyes on Daryl’s, and an envelope was brought over by Carl. Carl had known about the adoption, but not the wedding ring. Rick had played every member of the immediate family quite well in his scheme. Carol was crying and yelling at Daryl to say yes, while Maggie held up her iphone to record every moment of the birthday surprise. Rus and Merle were staring at Daryl with mild surprise, not having known about anything at all beyond the ring. Jesse stood by at the edge of the crowd, his Dixon blue eyes alight with joy and a smile on his mouth as he lit up a cigarette. 

 

“Say yes, Poppa!” Judy shrieked, tugging at Daryl. “You’ll always be Poppa, forever, and I can be Judy Dixon, forever.” Judy’s cowboy boots stomped in the dirt, as Daryl nodded wordlessly, while Rick slid the ring on Daryl’s finger. 

 

“ _ Dixon _ .”


End file.
